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The Singing Spire
'Overview' The Singing Spire is a mountian in Jiskadar, one of the northermost peaks of the Jiskosa mountain range. The cold winds howl incessantly down its slopes, carrying with it inhuman wails and shrieks. Little to no vegetation and fauna can be seen on the slopes of this icy mountain when viewed from the valley below, and its sides are steep and littered with broken shale, making the climb very treacherous with no easy paths apparent. Humans and furrs alike give the mountain a wide berth, finding it eerie. It holds no lure for travelers, who can find far easier paths across the mountain range by using the river valley just south of the singing spire, and holds no draw for hunters or herbalists, as it seems virtually devoid of animals and vegetation. Culture Local legends claim that the barren mountain is home to demons, creatures from the darkest fears and nightmares made real in forms both spirit and flesh. General belief holds the mountain itself to be cursed, and that those who tresspass upon it will find the demons and evil spirits seeking them out. The howls and screams that constantly issue down the mountainside are said to belong to the bloodthirsty spirits and their victims. From time to time, villager in the region claim to have seen the physical manifestation of these demonic spirits, rushing through a town and killing the humans and gobbling up the airla and furrs. These towns are often subsequently shunned in trade, as neighboring villages think they did something horrid to invoke the wrath of the Demons of the Singing Spire. 'The "Demons of the Singing Spire"' There are, in fact, a band of creatures residing in the heights of the Singing Spire, making use of the legends in the area to make a safe haven for themselves. A pack of aershaa led by the Stone male called Erumein lives in a hidden valley, high above the river that cuts through the northern mountain range. The hidden valley is known to them as Moondale, and it is the one place on the mountain rich in both vegetation and prey creatures. It can only be reached by long, treacherous trails, that are not apparent to any but those who have been shown the secret ways by the pack. They occassionally travel down the mountain and into human settlements, using the illusory powers of one of their Dark members to guise themselves in the apperance of the demons the humans fear most. In this way, they are able to liberate captive aershaa and furrs and transport them beyond the reach of their human masters, without incurring suspicion or pursuit. Local humans and furrs do not know that their demons are really this aershaa pack, for the secret is kept well and the pack well hidden and cautious. Any who are suspected to be close to discerning the truth are killed, and their disappearances are written off by the general populace as the work of the Demons, thus encouraging other curious souls to keep away from the mountain.